Ducks win team-record 12th in a row at home

ANAHEIM – Who needs Corey Perry and his new eight-year, $69 million deal?

The Ducks actually do but they did just fine without their star right wing Monday night as Francois Beauchemin's two goals and Emerson Etem's first career tally highlighted their 5-3 victory over the San Jose Sharks at Honda Center.

Perry wasn't on the ice as he was busy putting the finishing touches on his big-money contract extension while serving the third of his four-game suspension for his hit on Minnesota Wild rookie Jason Zucker.

His absence hasn't halted the hard-driving Ducks (21-3-4), who've gone 8-0-3 since their last regulation loss on Feb. 25 against the Kings at Staples Center. Their 12th consecutive home triumph set a franchise record.

"We always want this building to be a tough place to come into," Ducks captain Ryan Getzlaf said. "Our fans have shown it this year and we've shown it.

"That's what we want to do down the stretch here. Keep winning our home games and win as many as you can on the road."

Getzlaf's shorthanded score capped a three-goal outburst in less than three minutes of the second period to blow open a 1-1 tie. It was Etem who fed him the deft pass after breaking through on his own just 2:12 earlier.

Etem, a Long Beach native and Ducks' late first-round pick in 2010, broke in on San Jose goalie Antti Niemi and beat him top shelf after getting a feed from Daniel Winnik. The score drew a loud ovation from the announced 14,441 in attendance.

"It's about time," said Etem, who was playing in his 19th NHL game. "I've been waiting a long time and I know the fans have too. It's just great to contribute offensively tonight.

"I knew the goals would come. I've been shooting a lot more lately and I just need to keep that up. It was a great play by Winny there, just threading the needle on that pass."

Just 34 seconds before Etem's seminal moment, Peter Holland snapped a tie game when he finished a nifty tic-tac-toe play with Andrew Cogliano and Bobby Ryan.

Patrick Marleau scored near the end of the second and Matt Irwin beat Ducks goalie Viktor Fasth at 6:48 of the third to make it interesting but Beauchemin finished off another victory with an empty-net goal.

The Ducks set themselves up for a Wednesday night showdown with NHL-leading Chicago. Both teams have run away with the Western Conference point lead with the Blackhawks racking up 51 and the Ducks right behind with 46.

One of the Blackhawks' few defeats came against the Ducks, a 3-2 decision on Feb. 12 in Chicago.

"Obviously we beat them in a shootout in their building the first time we played them," Beauchemin said. "We want to keep doing the things that we've been doing lately.

"We've been building good stuff and been playing well. It's going to be nice to have the challenge to play against them again."

The players learned of Perry's extension during the third period when the Ducks announced it on the scoreboard above center ice.

"That's a big step in the right direction for this organization," Getzlaf said. "Me and Pears have had some conversations over the last week. The free agency thing is a route some guys like to go but we're in a pretty good situation here with a great ownership group."

Perry won't return to the Ducks until Friday at home against Detroit. But the Ducks just keep rolling along.

"We've been getting them from different areas all year," Ducks coach Bruce Boudreau said of the scoring from others. "It's a really good sign. The balance continues.

"As much as we'd love to have Corey Perry, it's nice that other people come up and step in and do the job for him tonight."